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I looked back at the paper. There were no more questions. Just a haphazard scrawling of messages from Asteria.
Something dark followed me.
Protect the garden. Expand the circle.
It has been waiting so long.
You must renew the Covenant of the Three. Protect each other.
“Well, that’s creepy,” I announced finally.
My mother managed a small laugh. “It was certainly frightening at the time. Now it’s just…”
“Confusing?”
“Exactly.”
“Do you have any idea at all what it might mean?”
“Well, the first part makes more sense than the last part,” my mom said, plucking a last lonely bit of bacon off her plate and chewing it thoughtfully. “When you open up communication like that, it’s sort of like lighting a candle in a room full of moths. The one you’re trying to communicate with won’t be the only one attracted to the light. Most of the moths are like Asteria—spirits we are connected with, probably mostly ancestors, who want to speak to us. But some are…” She hesitated.
“Evil moths?” I suggested.
Mom laughed again. “Evil might be a strong word. But yes. There might be spirits or… or other beings with darker intentions.”
“And one of those spirits or other beings was in the garden last night?” I asked, trying to sound as though I merely wanted clarification, and not like I was scared out of my wits.
“Asteria seemed to think so,” Mom said, and she was looking closely at me now. “We were already inside the circle, and so we didn’t feel anything amiss. But you were out there.”
She was asking the question without asking it, and yet again, I couldn’t bring myself to tell her the whole truth. I couldn’t explain why, except that it still felt like something that belonged to me, that I didn’t want to share.
“I told you last night, it… it got cold. And I guess… there was that feeling you get, you know? When someone’s watching you? But that’s it, really,” I said with what I hoped was a casual shrug.
I could tell by the way she put her arm around me that she wasn’t buying it. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what we were doing. It was my fault that you were out in the garden unprotected. If I’d just told you the truth—”
“Mom, don’t beat yourself up over this,” I told her. “I’m fine. Was I a little freaked out? Sure. But nothing bad happened to me. I’m just sorry that I screwed up your chance to speak to Asteria.”
“You didn’t screw up anything, Wren. Like I said, it was my fault for not telling you. In fact, I’m pretty sure all of this—this whole mess of a situation—is my fault.”
“That doesn’t really sound fair. A situation this complicated has to be more than one person’s fault,” I said.
Mom smirked. “Are you giving me permission to be mad at my mom?”
I shrugged. “You gave me permission to be mad at mine. It’s only fair.”
She still had her arm draped over my shoulder, and she hugged me with it once more before letting me go. Then she sighed again as she looked back at the paper. “I just wish I understood these answers better. Part of me—the part that’s still trying to rebel against my mother—thinks it’s just another manipulation tactic to get me to stay here and carry on the family traditions. But another part—”
“Thinks that communicating from the spirit world is a lot of trouble to go to just to manipulate your kid?” I suggested.
Mom frowned. “Exactly. Asteria was stubborn and devoted to our traditions, but that seems extreme, even for her. We need to find out more about this Covenant of the Three. Last night was the first I’d ever heard of it.”
“Did either of your sisters know?”
“If they did, they didn’t show it,” she replied. “We’re going to have to work together to unravel this, I think. I don’t know how long it will take.”
So… does that mean we’re staying?” I asked, not quite able to keep the note of hope out of my voice.
She looked at me and smiled, though the smile did not quite reach her eyes. “How would you feel about giving it the summer?”
